Welcome from our Residency Program Director

 

Introduction

Welcome to our web site and thank you for your interest in our University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program.    

 

History

In 1965, Lynn P. Carmichael, M.D. founded our Department of Family Medicine and Community Health as the first academic family medicine department in the United States.  A year later, Dr. Carmichael set another precedent when he established the first Family Practice Training Program at Jackson Memorial Hospital.  Today, our department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Jackson Health System offer a dynamic program in clinical care, medical education, research, and community health. 

 

Program

We are proud to be part of our multicultural, community-focused, innovative, encouraging environment found at our residency program. Our goal is to provide the broad-based medical training that is essential for family physicians to develop their skills and become lifelong learners.  We feel strongly that having qualified primary care doctors committed to the well being of patients, their families and the community at large is essential in today’s ever-changing world of medicine.  Our family physicians serve as each community’s link to accessible medical care, continuity of care and medical advocacy.

We encourage our residents to take on leadership roles in the hospital, the university, and our community.  We promote open communication and feedback at all levels and we value learning that promotes mutual respect, flexibility, compassion and developing the necessary clinical skills to thrive in any medical setting.

Our residents train at two principal institutions:  Jackson Memorial Hospital, and the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics. By training in two very different sites, our housestaff are provided with wonderful and challenging clinical encounters and opportunities. This variety of experiences is a definitive element in becoming a confident, knowledgeable, compassionate and resourceful family medicine physician.

The key role played by our residents in the care of patients is vital to their development into outstanding physicians. Many of our patients come to the hospital without an established diagnosis; therefore, our residents have meaningful input into diagnostic and therapeutic decision making. With guidance and teaching from a general medical and subspecialty faculty of extraordinarily high caliber, residents can achieve their fullest potential. We are proud of our inpatient general medicine and subspecialty experiences, as well as our rotations in intensive care and emergency medicine. As part of the ambulatory program, the resident has the opportunity to follow his or her continuity patients in a setting which offers quality teaching by faculty role models.

Our program mirrors the global, diverse flavor of Miami, both in patient population and resident roster, making it rich in cultural diversity and international exposure. We are fortunate to attract outstanding trainees from all over the United States and abroad, and our selection process is careful and objective.

Our program is centered on resident education. We have a didactic lecture curriculum that teaches the entire spectrum of family medicine. All of our residents are blocked each Wednesday morning specifically for learning and board preparation. These academic days also include procedure workshops and family medicine community physicians who are invited to talk to our residents about their private practices.

We have a strong group of dedicated faculty who love to teach.  Our residents are a talented, cohesive group of individuals who bring life to our program and learn to lead morning reports, hospital rounds and journal club. They confidently provide medical care to our local community, backed with the knowledge that they have access to experts in virtually all medical specialty areas.

Our program provides sequential and gradually increasing ambulatory care responsibility as well as realistic experiences required of family physicians. The family physician is primarily responsible for comprehensive ambulatory care. For this reason, our program increases the time allotted to ambulatory care and community medicine during our three-year program. The first year is somewhat similar to a rotating internship with about 90 percent inpatient training and 10 percent ambulatory care. By the second year, time is divided equally between in hospital and ambulatory care services. In the third year, 80 percent of the resident's time is spent in outpatient training.

We have a strong clinical orientation with a wealth of clinical material in the community and hospital. The learning opportunities in the program are structured to provide appropriate training for residents whether their future plans include solo, group or managed care practices, regardless of community size. A significant amount of training time involves rotations in private physicians’ offices. The call schedule decreases from first to third years to reflect trends being adopted nationwide.

Jackson Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program exists for two reasons - to provide superior education and training for family medicine residents and to give our patients the best possible medical care.  We prepare our residents to succeed in the practice locations they will eventually choose, from urban to rural, and to be ready for leadership roles in their communities.

Our program has graduated skilled, successful, compassionate physicians since our program began in 1967.  I believe the key to our success is the commitment of our faculty and staff to excellence in education and patient care.  Our faculty members devote substantial time to enhancing their own teaching skills and are dedicated to helping residents grow professionally and personally into fine family physicians.

Our three-year Family Medicine Residency at JM/UM in Miami, Florida offers:

  • A comprehensive education emphasizing the management and treatment of common problems encountered by family physicians
  • Innovation in the practice of family medicine
  • An emphasis on treating the whole patient and his or her family on an ongoing basis
  • Extensive outpatient procedural training
  • A supportive environment with a well-rounded faculty
  • Our Jackson Memorial Family Medicine Residency trains physicians in the care of all people and their families, from birth to death.
  • Our program focuses on the increasingly complex biomedical skills needed by family physicians, with comprehensive attention to the many psychological, social, and systems issues that affect health, illness, and healing.
  • We recognize residency training as a tremendous opportunity for human growth and development, shared by both residents and faculty.
  • Our multidisciplinary faculty includes physicians, nurse practitioners, psychologists and other ancillary staff. The program curriculum is rigorous and comprehensive.
  • Residents graduate proficient in a full range of office procedures, office counseling, emergency care, common inpatient and outpatient medical problems, and surgical and obstetric skills.
  • Our faculty is accessible, supportive, and possesses a large variety of special interests, including: health policy, care of older patients, cross-cultural issues, women’s health, surgical obstetrics, community medicine, integrative medicine, global health, and preventive medicine.
  • Many faculty members and all residents participate in Balint training, a group process devoted to exploring the impact and meaning of the doctor-patient relationship.
  • Our program is committed to the integration of biopsychosocial principles into daily practice.
  • We are proud of our dedication to the underserved, and are interested in residents who aim to develop skills in cultural competency and underserved medicine as an integral component of their career development.
 

Family Medicine Clinic

Jefferson Reaves, clinical home to our Family Medicine Residency Program, is located in the historic Overtown community of Miami, between downtown and the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Medical Center -- less than five minutes away from our medical center.  As one of the UHF six Centers of Excellence, JRSHC was featured in the Faces of Hope:  A Celebration of Community Health Centers book. 

 

Jackson Memorial Hospital

Jackson Memorial Hospital is the third-largest teaching hospital in the United States with an average of 1,068 residents trained a year.

Jackson Memorial Hospital, the system's flagship hospital with 1,558 beds, is the third-largest public teaching hospital in the United States through an academic affiliation with the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Jackson Memorial is a training center for physicians and other healthcare professionals from around the world. It has received countless awards, certifications and recognitions for medicine, nursing, research and patient care.

With over 1500 beds, JMH is one of the largest in the country. It is the only county hospital for the citizens of Miami-Dade County, is the major teaching institution for University of Miami, is one of the nation’s busiest hospitals, and is continually ranked in U.S. News & World Report among the "Best Hospitals in America”. 

Opened in 1918, Jackson Memorial Hospital is an accredited, tax-assisted, tertiary teaching hospital with 1,558 licensed beds.  Jackson Memorial provides a wide range of patient services and educational programs, a clinical setting for research activities, and a number of health-related community services. It is a regional referral center and a magnet for medical research and innovation. Jackson Memorial’s world-renown treatment facilities include the Ryder Trauma Center, UM/JM Burn Center, Holtz Children’s Hospital, Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital and the Miami Transplant Institute. Based on the number of admissions to a single facility, Jackson Memorial is one of the nation’s busiest hospitals.

Jackson Memorial Hospital is the primary teaching hospital for the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Since 1952, the Public Health Trust has had a basic affiliation agreement with the medical school, supplemented by an annual operating agreement, which sets forth the responsibilities of and the services to be provided by each party. Of the nearly 1,000 full-time faculty members of the medical school, more than 600 are doctors engaged in clinical practice who have been granted medical staff privileges and can admit patients to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

While Jackson Memorial and the University of Miami operate as independent institutions, many of the services and programs offered at the hospital and medical school have become closely integrated. This relationship has enabled Jackson Memorial Hospital to develop as a major tertiary care center, benefiting both the community and the region it serves.

Jackson Health System is an integrated healthcare delivery network with approximately 11,000 employees. It has been a central provider of medical services and healthcare leadership for residents of Miami-Dade County and beyond for nearly a century. Owned and supported by the taxpayers of Miami-Dade County, it is governed by the seven-member Public Health Trust Financial Recovery Board under the auspices of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

The centerpiece of Jackson Health System is Jackson Memorial Hospital, a world-class regional center of specialized care that functions as the primary teaching hospital for the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Jackson's robust network also includes two community hospitals, a children's hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a mental hospital,18 school-based programs, two long-term care nursing facilities, five correctional clinics, and both primary and specialty care centers across Miami-Dade County.

 

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

The University of Miami is one of the nation’s top 50 research universities, and the Miller School ranks #1 in NIH awards among all Florida medical schools.

Serving more than five million people as the only academic medical center in South Florida, UHealth – University of Miami Health System/Miller School of Medicine has earned international acclaim for research, clinical care, and biomedical innovations. Founded in 1952 as Florida’s first accredited medical school, the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine provides medical staff for the nationally renowned University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center and University of Miami Hospital. University of Miami Hospital is the flagship facility of UHealth, which also includes two additional University-owned hospitals: Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Anne Bates Leach Eye Hospital, home to the top-ranked Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Our affiliated hospitals on the medical campus include Jackson Memorial Hospital, Holtz Children’s Hospital, and the Miami VA Medical Center.

Each year the medical school’s more than 1,500 faculty physicians have more than a million patient encounters in primary care and more than 100 medical specialties and sub-specialties. UHealth also has more than 8,200 employees. In 2011, Bascom Palmer was ranked No. 1 in the nation in ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report  for the eighth year in a row. Four other Miller School of Medicine specialties were also listed among the nation’s best: neurology and neurosurgery, ear, nose and throat, urology, and nephrology or kidney disorders.

Research is a top priority, with more than 1,500 ongoing projects funded by more than $200 million in external grants and contracts to UM faculty. The medical campus consists of nearly 68 acres within the 153-acre complex of the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, including more than 500,000 square feet of research space with plans underway to build the UM Life Science Park, which will add an additional two million square feet of space adjacent to the medical campus. The UM Life Science Park will bring together academia and industry for collaboration in bioscience research innovation. The medical campus is also home to the following acclaimed medical facilities:

  • Bascom Palmer Eye Institute has been named the country’s number one eye hospital seven years in a row by U.S. News & World Report for its ongoing excellence in ophthalmic clinical care and research.
  • The Diabetes Research Institute is a recognized world leader in cure-focused research.
  • The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center treats nearly 4,000 newly-diagnosed cancer patients each year, and treats thousands more in ongoing treatment from throughout the United States and Latin America.
  • Dedicated to finding a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury, researchers at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis found the first direct evidence of successful regeneration of adult human central nervous system tissue.
  • The University of Miami Ear Institute houses the nation’s second most active cochlear implant program, restoring hearing to adults and children with profound deafness. Over the years the ear, nose and throat program has steadily climbed up the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
  • The nationally renowned research efforts of the Department of Pediatrics are housed in the magnificent Batchelor Children’s Research Institute.
  • The Transplant Institute at the University of Miami/Jackson is one of the nation’s best and busiest, responsible for half of the pediatric multi-visceral transplants in the world.
  • Significant federal funding supports research at the Comprehensive AIDS Program, including HIV studies in pregnant women, pediatric AIDS clinical trials, various drug protocol studies, heterosexual transmission of AIDS, transfusion safety studies, and the national cooperative drug discovery group.
  • The John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics is designed to discover the genetic influences on human health and apply the knowledge to the practice of medicine through improved diagnostics, treatments and medications.
  • The Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute is leading the way in the use of adult stem cells to repair malfunctioning human organs.
  • The new Biomedical Research Building, a 182,000-square-foot facility houses the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics.

The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine has embarked upon a journey of unprecedented growth, with new cutting-edge centers of excellence in areas like genetics, genomics and stem cell research to add to our proven efforts in paralysis, cancer, diabetes and eye care.

 

Miami

Miami is a destination like no other. Cultures intertwine with couture. Beach life mixes with big business. It has a style as unique as the people who call it home. Explore some of the original attractions and experiences you can only find in Miami, but know this: No photo, video, or post can fully capture the city. You have to visit to get it.

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625.

Miami is a major center and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade.  In 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked thirty-third among global cities.  In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami "America's Cleanest City", for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets and city-wide recycling programs.  According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, and the world's fifth-richest city in terms of purchasing power.  Miami is nicknamed the "Capital of Latin America", is the second-largest U.S. city (after El Paso) with a Spanish-speaking majority, and the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality.

Downtown Miamiand South Florida are home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and is home to many large companies both nationally and internationally. The Civic Center is a major center for hospitals, research institutes, medical centers, and biotechnology industries. For more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the "Cruise Capital of the World," has been the number one cruise passenger port in the world.

Blessed with year-round mild climates and unrivaled ocean access, America’s southernmost resort city is also a sought-after international recreation destination. Ranked the nation’s #1 Healthiest City by Natural Health Magazine in 2002, Miami caters to action-oriented visitors from around the globe with some of the world's top golf, tennis and sporting facilities. Add sparkling waters that are a magnet for boating enthusiasts, fishermen, divers and water sports aficionados to the equation and it is easy to see why Miami is a number one choice.  Discover what Miami has to offer -- we have it all right here!

 

Closing

In a geographic location that combines one of the nation’s top medical and research universities with a culturally diverse community that presents a multitude of social and recreational opportunities, our University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program offers limitless opportunities for personal and professional development. 

You are about to make a decision that will influence the rest of your life.  I hope this information about our program will help you discover the atmosphere of teamwork and professionalism we strive to create.  I invite you to consider training at Jackson Memorial Hospital Medicine Residency Program.

Please explore our website and contact us with any questions or comments.

I look forward to meeting you.

 

José Picó, M.D.

Director, Jackson Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program

  

For application to our residency program, we participate in the ERAS process.   For international graduates, please contact the ECFMG office.  For LCME students interested in our externship program, please visit our externship page for more information.

Visit our Jackson Memorial Hospital Residency Program website.